Silver Threads: Second of the Mosaic Series
By LARRY LAU
They called him “Old Timor.”
It was an affectionately sar
castic acknowledgement of his 23
years. His participation in their
activities was a source of de
light. His occasional periods of
recluse and sobriety? They were
laid understandingly at the door
• >f Time. His ability to make peo
ple laugh stemmed from a good
humored warmth, bred of expe
rience and nurtured by accep
tance.
Being twenty-six had its re
sponsibilities. He was expected to
give fatherly advice to the fresh
men, to be able to consume great
quantities of alcohol and remain
clear-eyed, and to be sympathet
ic when one of the youngsters got
sick in his car.
He had to take his place with
! broom and mop when there was
cleaning to be done, and to re
spond with forced cheerfulness to
a pillow fight at three in the
morning. No groanings about
their vexing bursts of energy, no
grumblings about their heartless
ness . . . jump out of bed, grit
his teeth and play horse with the
rest, though his eyes were fat
with sleep and his twenty-six
year old bones protested this lack
of prudence.
Above all, he was supposed to
be slick and smooth with the wo
men. No excuses . . . when you're
twenty-six you should have wom
en all figured out. He accepted
this responsibility good-natured
ly and did his besUto appear ju
dicious and wise, dashing and
typically collegiate. He had a
friendly audience and a star on
his dressing' room door . . . and
of course he' enjoyed the role. . . .
It was Monday. They asltcd,
“Got a date yet, Dad?” They
knew he hadn’t, and a series of
sly smiles passed from one face
to another. They hugged them
selves, delighted to have the Old
Timer on a spot.
“Not yet,” he answered. “Plen
ty of time . . . plenty of time. No
sense being too hasty, it’s only
Monday.” He looked as serious as
he could and awaited their reac
tion.
“Ha! You’ll never get one now,”
they shouted irreverently, “it’s
Monday, Dad!" The young men
all bobbed their heads and agreed
he’d never got a date this late.
Their own arrangements had
been made weeks before. They
felt comfortably secure in this
possession. Life was simple and
exciting. They clucked happily
over their Portland party plans.
The days went by clip-clop . . .
clip-clop . . . clip-clop. It was
Thursday night and the SC game
was on everyone’s lips. And they
kidded the Old Timer unmerci
fully. “How about it, Dad, got a
date yet?” They chuckled over
the hopelessness of his predica
ment.
“Plenty of time yet,” he as
sured them, “plenty of time. I've
been thinking of taking whatcha
maeallit.” He mentioned a beau
tiful girl up the row.
The raised eyebrows around
the room were amused, pitying
and scornful. “Who you trying to
kid. Bet she’s been dated for a
month!” Their eyes dared him to
relate a past experience rlow, in
the face of this momentous fail
ure. “Maybe you can pick up a
stray at the dance,” someone
laughed.
“Don’t worry about me,” he
said blandly. “None of this dat
ing months in advance for your
old Dad. Be casual, that’s the
thing.”
The young faces were etched
in disbelief. The star had forgot
ten his lines. They left the room,
chattering, leaving the Old Tim
er with a faint smile, eased into
a big red leather chair. The stage
was set. . . .
The front lawn -was massed
with young men and women all
talking and laughing and being
excited. Automobiles, all freshly
scrubbed and beribboned, were
jammed tightly in the driveway
and parking strip, their noses
crinkled toward Portland.
A small sleek coupe swung into
Side Show: Variety Often Confuses
By 1)1 ANA DYE
Will Rogers once said: “All I
know is what I read in the pa
pers."Maybe he uttered pearls of
wisdom. For some his state
ment means nothing. But it is a
cure for the confusion caused by
n. variety in reading.
Most people are not satisfied
with what they lead in the news
papers and rightly so.
Reading presents conflicts. Af
ter reading a variety of things,
the reader is required to form his
own judgment.
Just the other night, I sat
down with the New Yorker. Ir
the course of the evening I read
John McCarten’s comment on the
movie “Hamlet."
The New Yorker usually pans
“good” movies. But it had compli
mentary things to say about Sir
Lawrence Olivier’s latest produc
tion. The column is even headed
"Not Much Wrong at Elsinore.”
McCar'ten praised the compact
ness of the movie and the “elim
ination of such nuisances as Ro
sencrantz and Guildenstern.” He
also comments on the static qual
ity of the movie due to the con
finement of the set.
“It must be remembered that
the action of one of Shakespeare’s
plays is only a snare designed to
capture a thousand and one ideas.
No matter how agile the camera,
it can’t move when Shakespeare
is presenting philosophy.”
After finishing the New York
er, T formed an impression of
just what “Hamlet” was going
to be like.
A few nights later I picked up
another magazine. Lo and behold
a review of “Hamlet" written
by Robert Hatch. He is as favor
ably impressed as McGarten, but
his criticisms are opposite.
Hatch says: "His ((Olivier’s)
film sweeps and plunges and hov
ers.” He has freed himself not
only of the physical but of the
mental limitations of the stage,
and works and thinks completely
through the camera.”
Concerning the “nuisances,"
this critic says “the decision to
throw Rosencrantz, Guildenstern,
and Fortinbras out of the play
seems both unnecessary and un
wise.”
Now I have formed a different
idea and wonder. Tiie only solu
tion is to see the movie.
Whether or not Rosenerantz
and Guildenstern are left in the
movie is not a world shattering
problem, but it forms food for
thought. Those who read the
newspapers will not be confused.
But “thinkers” will weigh many
sides before deducing a plausible
solution.
Healthy Symptoms
A newcomer among the ranks of foreign language clubs on
the campus is a Russian club recently okayed by the L niversity.
it will follow the usual pattern of such groups, we under
stand; lectures, movies—a general excuse for persons interest
ed in Russian language and Russian culture to get together.
It's a good idea, we think, for its more difficult to feel un
friendly toward a nation whose culture you understand and
appreciate. Prejudices are based on ignorance. Language clubs
in general are a symptom of a healthy interest in language, in
literature, and broad-mindedness toward foreign achieve
ments.
There’s another symptom we have diagnosed as healthy—
this time a svmptom of increasing interest in study. It s the
formation of a chapter on this campus of Phi Eta Sigma, a
national scholastic honorary for freshman men.
A 3.5 accumulative grade point average is required for
membership. This might encourage scholarship, and it might
encourage the desperate scramble after grades for the sake
of grades, but even if it produces only the latter effect, the
freshmen who hit 3.5 are bound to learn something.—B. H.
DhegdnWEneralo
The Oregon Duty Emeratd. published daily during the college year except S unde vs
Mondays, holidays, and final examination periods by the Associated Students, University o.
Oregon. Subscription rates: $2.00 per term and $4.00 per year. Entered as second-class matter
at the postoflace, Eugene, Oregon.
BILE YATES. Editor
Don Fair. Managing Editor
VIRCilL TUCKER. Business Manager
Torn McLaughlin. Adv. Manager
Associate Kditors: Time Goetze, Boboiee Bropliy. Diana Dye. Barbara Heywood,
„ ' hob Reed. Assistant Kditor
UP PE
Mike Callahan. Stan Turnbull
Co*News Editors
Glenn Gillespie. Sports Editor
V'inita Howard. Women's Editor
Hol> Funk. Church Evlitor
UPPER
Beth Miller, Circulation Mgr.
Eve Overbeck. Nat'l Adv. Mgr.
Sally Waller. Assistant Adv Mgr.
Joan Mimnaugh, Assistant Adv. Mgr.
NEWS STAFF
Don Smith. Assistant Managing Editor
Evelyn Nill and Ann Goodman
Assistant News Editors
Phyllis Kohlmeier, Editorial Secretary
JSINESS STAFF
Virginia Mahon. Assistant Adv. Mgr.
Donna Brennan, Asst. Adv. Mgr.
Jack Schnaidt, Asst. Adv. Mgr.
the yard and parked at an an
gle. The girl behind the wheel
waved and shouted something to
the crowd.
“Hey, Dad, somebody wants
you!” They stole admiring glanc
es at the girl and whispered to
themselves concerning her identi
ty, morals and vital statistics.
The Old Timer passed jauntily
through the crowd, a wide grin
on his face, only half answering
the remarks and farewells that
splashed against him from all
sides. He got into the car from
the driver's side and the Beauti
ful Girl slid dutifully over. The
whisperings and craning of necks
increased considerably. The Old
Timer leaned from the car win
dow, said a few goodbyes, spun
the little coupe arounu auu wao
gone.
The young men stood there
looking at each other, dumb
founded. “Well, whadda know,
the old bastard did it after all!”
“How about that!”
“What a smooth old dog he is
. . . and a car to boot!”
“What’s he got that I haven't ?
He didn’t even start phoning un
til last night.” They sighed per
plexedly and fervently wished
to be twenty-six. . . .
The Old Timer smiled happily
to himself, waved at passing cars
and patted the Beautiful Girl ir
reverently on the knee. “Your
folks know you’re coming?”
“Oh sure,” she smiled back at
him, “I wrote them as soon as
you asked me, three weeks ago.”
In Retrospect
ONE YEAR AGO
The Henry Wallace wing of
the Democratic party will have to
stay in the party and will have
to support Truman in 1948, in the
opinion of Ellis Arnall, former
governor of Georgia who spoke
at McArthur court last fall term.
Enrollment at the University
hit a new high with 5,776 stu
dents registered. Men students
outnumbered the co-eds 3,889 to
1,887 with veterans comprising a
major portion of the student body.
A total of $19,403.62, accumu
lated from the profits of the edu
cational activities board over a
period of years, was added to a
fund of $10,000 set aside last year
to furnish the Student Union
building.
The Emerald moved from the
basement of the journalism school
to the now-familiar quonset hut
during the first week of school.
The chemistry department in
vaded the former home of would
be journalists.
The executive council went on
record as favoring a $5 raise in
tuition for ten terms: the extra
amount to be put into the Stu
dent Union fund.
The Oregon football squad, un
der the guidance of Jim Aiken,
won their first grid battle of the
season, defeating Montana State.
Loretta Young spoke to mem
bers of the Newman club on her
only public appearance in Eu
gene. She was here during the
filming of “Rachel.”
Thanks to bad driving condi
tions, there has been in 1948 a ser
ious setback to the movement for
52 Mother-in-law Sundays every
year.
^Jhe A'UiiocnxU ajj
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